Broadkill Beach, Delaware

Broadkill Beach
Unincorporated community

Broadkill Beach
Broadkill Beach

Location within the state of Delaware

Coordinates: 38°49′41″N 75°12′43″W / 38.82806°N 75.21194°WCoordinates: 38°49′41″N 75°12′43″W / 38.82806°N 75.21194°W
Country United States
State Delaware
County Sussex
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
  Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes 19968

Broadkill Beach is an unincorporated beach community in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of Delaware, located on the Delaware Bay north of the mouth of the Broadkill River. It is part of the Salisbury, Maryland-Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area.

While primarily vacation residences, Broadkill Beach offers public beach access to the Delaware Bay for swimming and surf fishing. The community is surrounded to the west by Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, making it a haven for nature lovers and bird watchers in addition to other wildlife.[1] Broadkill Beach is an official sanctuary for horseshoe crabs, the state marine animal of Delaware and a "signature species" of the Delaware Bay Estuary.[2] Broadkill Beach borders Beach Plum Island Nature Preserve on the south end of Bayshore Drive.

The community offers vacationers a cheaper alternative to renting in larger Delaware beach communities, while still being close enough to the resort towns. Rehoboth Beach is approximately 20 minutes south of Broadkill Beach. The older section of Broadkill, dating from the mid-20th Century, lies just south and north of the intersection of Delaware Route 16 and Bayshore Drive. This area includes cross streets named after Presidents (south of 16 intersection) and Southern and Southwestern states (north of 16). Many older, small cottages can be found in this area. Farther north and south along Bayshore Drive are larger, more modern vacation homes.

The only business located in Broadkill Beach is The Broadkill Store, a general store sometimes referred to by locals as the "Broadkill Mall," which sells sandwiches, grocery items, bait & tackle, beach toys, souvenirs and homemade donuts on the weekends. A small Fourth of July parade is held by residents in Broadkill Beach each year.

References

  1. http://www.fws.gov/northeast/primehook/aboutus.html "U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge"
  2. http://www.ecodelaware.com/place.php?id=354 "EcoDelaware.com: Broadkill Beach, an official horseshoe crab sanctuary"